A big year for Dance Marathon at UF started with LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem,” and came to a close Sunday as the event claimed two national awards.
DM at UF took home most innovative event and best social media campaign at the Dance Marathon Leadership Conference.
Eden Joyner, the public relations overall director for DM last year, said a video using music from the song was the first of many videos that helped the event win those awards.
“I wanted that video to get everybody excited,” she said. “And it did.”
When she got the job, she realized the event didn’t have a comprehensive YouTube account. Twenty-one videos and $886,716.15 worth of donations later, Joyner said the social media approach was a success because it did its job: raising awareness.
During DM, Joyner said, participants were encouraged to tweet about seven celebrities in an effort to get a trending hashtag on Twitter. YouTube star Dom Mazzetti even gave the event a shout-out.
Twenty-year-old advertising junior Nicole Martinez was one of the event’s public relations captains last year. This year, she’s the new public relations director.
She remembers getting two hours of sleep and running around the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, shooting photos and videos to upload to Facebook and Twitter.
She said DM won most innovative event, though, because of the programs for families and children at the 26.2-hour event. The family room had an “around the world theme,” she said, and children were given a scavenger hunt with activities like “Hug a Dancer.”
“To me, the award really means that at the University of Florida, we really do have one of the best Dance Marathons,” she said. “Now, we’ll strive to do even more.”
